The Bar Exam

Washington is expected to announce results from the July 2011 Bar exam early this week, so you can be sure that many graduated law students are currently camped out in front of their mailboxes awaiting the verdict from the Bar Examiners (myself included). As we are in the midst of this uncertain time, I wanted to share a few thoughts I had about the exam itself.

The bar exam is likely the most difficult test that a person will take in their life. When you consider that your average law student goes through at least 4 years of university education and 3 years of law school prior to the bar exam, that is saying quite a lot. Not to mention the pesky LSAT which every student must take before applying to law school.

The reason the bar exam is so difficult is because it tests everything about the law. In contrast to a law school final, which is the culmination of 4-months of coursework in a particular subject area, the bar exam consists of 18 questions that could test any conceivable legal problem. Coming into the test, the student receives some guidance from the Bar Association as to what subjects will be covered (the lengthy list can be viewed here), but these subjects are very broad. Even if the student had a lifetime to prepare, it would be impossible to become an expert in all of these subject areas. Really, all you can do is work as hard as you can and hope that you learn enough to get by in your preparation time.

But even once this 2-day test has been administered, there remains one final hurdle: Professional Responsibilities. Although this should be a relatively easy subject for most law students, the fact that you only have 2 hours and 15 minutes to answer 6 essay questions makes it more difficult. Further, since it is administered the day after the bar exam, there isn't as much preparation time as one would hope for.

Overall, the entire process spans three days. A student who fails either the Bar exam or the Professional Responsibilities exam will not be admitted as a lawyer. It is a stressful process that no one would want to go through twice. And while there is certainly a sense of accomplishment once it is over, all of us are seeking that vindication from the Bar examiners once the results are released.

With that said, I wish my fellow bar-takers the best of luck when the results are posted.

UPDATE: Washington has just posted results for the bar exam, which can be viewed here.